Contents

Per Rule 10 of the Senate Rules, committees in the Minnesota State Senate are appointed by the party caucuses every two years. The majority caucus is to assign the number of positions for minority caucus members with adequate notice before the legislative session. Partisan balance of a committee is to match the partisan balance of the chamber at-large as closely as possible.[1] The caucuses then appoint their own members.[2] Chairs are selected by an organizational committee of the majority caucus. The two exceptions to this rule are the Rules and Administration Committee, which is chaired by the Majority Leader, and the Taxes Committee, which has its chair elected by the entire majority caucus.[3] With the exception of the Rules Committee, a member of a committee may not serve as the chair of the same division of a committee, or a substantially similar committee for more than three consecutive terms.[4] The Majority Leader, in his or her capacity as chair of the Rules Committee, may add or remove members after the start of the session with the approval of the Minority Leader.[5]

Function

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The Committee on Finance has jurisdiction over all bills appropriating money, obligating the state to expend money, or establishing a policy requiring the expenditure of money. All bills appropriating money will be referred to the respective policy committee before being referred to the Finance Committee.[6][7]

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Membership

2015 legislative session

The following table describes committee membership at the beginning of the 2015 legislative session.